December 6, 2010

Santa Party Mix

This past weekend my husband and I got together with some friends and had a game night.

Game nights are fun, aren't they?

Aren't they?

Well, they are supposed to be fun.

Until...

Men vs. Women.

Apparently as a married adult it gets all kindergarten on game nights.

When you are in elementary school it's always boys vs. girls.

The sexes seem to come together in the mid teens through your twenties when you are wearing love goggles and you play "couples".

After you have been married for a while, you squeegee the steam off the goggles and it's all boys vs. girls again.

It all seems like good fun when the games start.

Then, slowly but surely, the tide starts to turn.

It would be remiss of me not to mention that I was on the losing side of the tide.

Sometimes it happens like that.

It would also be remiss of me not to tell you that this was a rematch.

We have lost before.

Losing is not so much fun.

Especially when you were the ones that called for the rematch.

We just knew that the first loss was a...fluke, if you will.

An isolated incident.

Apparently not.

We lost again...at the rematch.

*hangs head in shame*

There has been fist pumping, high fiving, booyah yelling, boastful texting, congratulatory emailing, and smack talking that we, as women, have been fairly gracious about.

I am waiting for the T-shirts to get printed up.

Ok, I'm a little bitter.

I have surmised that we need to choose another game.

Next week it's on!

So, if you're having your own game night or going to some friends...even if you lose, you will be a winner if you bring this fun Party mix!

See, I try to look on the bright side ;)

What makes this mix fun is the addition of the Santa hats.

So, let's start there.

I found these yummy Bugles at the store. They called Caramel Bugles and they boast the sweet and salty.

You could certainly use the regular Bugles, though.

What I found was so great about the caramel bugles, besides being incredible delicious and addictive was that they are coated in a sweet glaze which makes them a bit thicker and less fragile than regular Bugles...so keep that in mind.

Here's what you'll need...

Bugles

Red Melting disks

Mini marshmallows

White sprinkles (I used nonpareils)

Melt the candy melts, along with a tablespoon of shortening (to help thin the melted candy), in 30 second intervals on half power in your microwave until melted.

Immediately start dipping.

Let them set up for 10 minutes or so on parchment or wax paper.

When they are set, remelt the red candy disk (if necessary) and dip just the bottoms (the large part of the Bugle) into the white sprinkles.

Then flip it over and dip the top in the melted candy and press a mini marshmallow on top.

And voila...

If you want to use the hats as an addition to a mix here's an idea for a sweet and salty mix that's easy and yummy.

Feel free to play around with the additions and make it your own!

3 cups mini pretzels

1/2 cup craisins

1 cup salted dry roasted peanuts

2 cups Rice Chex

2 cups holiday colored M&M's

8 oz. white chocolate for melting

Spread all your ingredients, EXCEPT M&M's, out on a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper.

Melt your white chocolate according to package directions and drizzle over the pretzel mix.

Transfer into a large bowl and coat mix with chocolate.

Return to baking sheet to allow to dry.

When chocolate is set, sprinkle M&M's and Santa Hats over the mix.

Transfer to big bowl to serve.

or put in jars to give to your friends...

...or use as a peace offering when your game night doesn't go as planned ;)

That is a really cute idea. I can't believe you dipped and decorated every single bugle. That's dedication. By the way, I'm holding a giveaway on my blog for Orglamix Organic makeup and you're welcome to come by and enter. http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com/2010/12/orglamix-organic-mineral-makeup-review.html

It's amazing how the girl/boy interaction dynamics change. I'm in medical school and whenever we go to med school parties, the girls are standing on one side of the room and the boys on the other. And no one is dancing. We're all just kind of bobbing around awkwardly (until the alcohol kicks in, that is. Then all hell breaks loose.) I'm so happy because I have a party to go to on Friday and I can so totally bring this!

oh yeah, good ole game night! We have a rematch ever year around Christmas and I'll tell ya, we win as many as we lose. That snack mix looks really yummy and those hats are just adorable. I may just have to try making some of those.

This is so fun and so cute! I have hubby's family coming over for pizza on Sunday so I'll be making this for the snack table - thanks for the idea and the fun tutorial! (And better luck at your next game night - the women can't let the men win again, tho - they'll never let you forget it!)

Ok, this could be the cutest thing I've ever seen! I usually make "party mix" by just melting p.nut butter chips and then coating the cereal in powdered sugar, but this looks just too cute to pass up. A definite on my Christmas Sweet Treats table this year! Thanks for sharing!

You are so creative! When I saw the first photograph, I thought to myself "Now where does one get those adorable santa hats?" I am loving how you put those together! And I have been involved in quite a few men vs. women game nights. I know you will reclaim victory soon! Thank you so much for sharing. I hope the rest of your week is full of joy!

lol, HA! It's cut throat for us, too. We played games on Thanksgiving and the GIRLS won! Rock on. There was 16 of us. Best Thanksgiving ever. I got to whip up on my twin boys, two of my brothers, my honey, my nephew, AND my Dad all in one night. JOY!~ingrid

Well, my Santa hats are setting up, and I wanted to tell you how I dipped them. The fork method was becoming too messy for me, so I decided to just use my fingers. I held the bottom (wide end) by the very corners and dipped as far as I could. I figured I had to re-dip the bottoms anyway for the white sprinkles to stick. So far, they're turning out SO cute! Thanks for this recipe! I've passed it along to a bunch of people so far! Alisha

I used just the plain Bugles and they worked good also. Here is the link to mine if you're interested in checking them out. Not as cute as yours but pretty cute. :) http://tanya-alittlebitofeverything.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-candies.html

My name is Shelly I'm a buttercream addict. I have a serious love of cookies and cupcakes...eating them, making them, looking at them ~ It has become a real issue! Luckily I have this blog to justify my sugar obsession.
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